Miralax question

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ehsuan

ehsuan

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I have to give my cat Miralax. Problem is, when I mix it in his food, invariably the other cat eats the food with the Miralax and the cat who needs it eats the other food. I've tried separating them, etc., but the cat who needs food, won't eat unless the other cat is eating at the same time.

So, I had a thought: why not mix the miralax with a little water, and give it to him like I do his liquid meds. Does anyone think there would be a problem with this? Or has anyone done this? I'm at my wit's end, as the cat is extremely constipated and is not getting better. I have taken him to the vet for enemas (at this point he's had 8 in about the last 5 weeks), I give him sub q fluids every other day at home, he's on cisipride...so there's not much more to do...

Thanks!
 
Thanks, Karen I'm going to try that...also, is it a twice a day item, or once a day? I think my vet said 2x, but maybe not...
 
Yep I have the same problem and I just give it like oral meds, and it is dosed 2x a day.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
 
Just a question - what is the main ingredient in Miralax? The reason I ask is the vet wanted me to give Gandalf Ducosate for Gandalf's constipation, brand name on it is Colace. She also uses Docusate and glycerin as her "magic bullet" enema mix. He does not need an enema, no large stool present and no megacolon. he has arthritis so it's becoming difficult for him to posture and I've been feeding him raw food which can create hard, dry stools.

So in my quest for Docusate, I found various varieties, some with stimulants. Miralax was some other ingredient, if I remember right. I had to go to Walgreen's to find Docusate in 50mg capsules like she directed without stimulants.

While I'm sure Miralax is fine, as I've seen it's something given frequently here for constipation, but am wondering if anyone has tried the Docusate/Colace capsules?
 
Main ingredient in Miralax is Polyethylene Glycol its a stool softener not a stimulate. If I understand it correctly it works by drawing moisture into the bowels. It seems to work very well for Maxwell, and has zero effect on his BGs.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
 
MommaOfMuse said:
Main ingredient in Miralax is Polyethylene Glycol its a stool softener not a stimulate. If I understand it correctly it works by drawing moisture into the bowels. It seems to work very well for Maxwell, and has zero effect on his BGs.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
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Thanks, that's the same thing Docusate does. Gandalf puked up his first dose of it though. I'm trying pumpkin for now.
 
Vicki -- If he doesn't go for the pumpkin, try butternut squash. Niko will eat that mixed in, or not, but not pumpkin.
 
ehsuan said:
Thanks, Karen I'm going to try that...also, is it a twice a day item, or once a day? I think my vet said 2x, but maybe not...
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We started with 5mg cisapride twice per day and 1/4 tsp Miralax twice per day. As things improved, I had to reduced the Miralax. Minou now gets 5 mg cisapride twice per day and 1/8 tsp Miralax once per day. She poops about every other day.
 
My vet only has him on 1 mg cisipride...I wonder if we should increase? I will ask the vet. I had to take him this morning for enemas. Ugh, I just wish he would go!! confused_cat
 
Yes, I would ask for more cisapride. The usual doses I've seen are 2.5 mg for cats 10 lbs and under and 5 mg for cats more than 10 lbs (Minou is 14 lbs). My vet recommended giving the cisapride every 8 hours. I can't do that because of my work schedule, but it might help if you can give more frequently. The Miralax won't help much if things are not moving. Also, the recommendation is that cisapride be given 15 - 30 minutes before food. I not sure we always make it to 15 minutes, but that's what I aim for.

You might want to join the yahoo feline megacolon group here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Feline_Megacolon/ They cover both megacolon and chronic constipation. I joined when Minou first started having problems, but haven't posted in a while because she has been relatively stable.
 
Thanks, Karen, for the info and the info about the group. I will check it out. I will talk to my vet today and get the dose increased. Thank you!
 
Vicky & Gandalf said:
n, but am wondering if anyone has tried the Docusate/Colace capsules?
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Docusate is DSS...a detergent.

Miralax is so much easier to use than docusate since it is tasteless and cats do great on it. I have never seen it cause vomiting or any negative side effects.

All of the specialists on VIN Rx miralax. I have never seen docusate mentioned for use in cats.

I am really surprised that your vet would opt for a big capsule over a tasteless powder that can be mixed with food.

Pilling cats = stress

DSS makes for a great enema but I don't use it for the other end.
 
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